Our Promises
by FireLover25
Summary: Upon transferring into Seirin, Shouhiiro Morichika and along with her cousin Riko Aida, seek what Shouhiiro had once lost. But...what did she lose in the first place, and how is Riko supposed to help her? All Shouhiiro remembers is everything from the midst of her break to recent... So what occurred before that?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Welcome to Seirin

All the students had gone and found their respected classroom waiting for the teacher to begin class. Several took the opportunity to make new friends, but very few were lucky enough to reunite with old friends and caught up. Meanwhile, the rest of the students remained in their seats - perhaps to regain the lack of sleep they didn't get this morning, or, just reading a book.

It wasn't long until the class' teacher had walked into the classroom with a girl following suit. "Class," he spoke, "I would like to present you, our newest student. Please welcome, Ms. Morichika."

No one understood why he spoke of her with such enthusiasm. Today was _everyone's _first day of class, so what made this girl more special compared to the rest?

The girl now known as Morichika had long, scarlet hair reaching below her waist. Her eyes were like deep red abysses showing little to just about no sign of emotion within them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" she greeted while bowing her head down, "My name is Morichika Shouhiiro"

While the teacher was telling the girl where she would be sitting, the other students began whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey, what kind of name is _Shouhiiro_ anyways?"

"I don't know, but she's kind of cute!"

"…quite strange, don't you think? Getting a 'new student' all of a sudden… I mean, today is _everyone's_ first day of school…"

"Yeah, how strange…"

Unknowingly to them, the girl had been listening to their conversations.

"Please go to your seat so we can begin class Ms. Morichika" the teacher instructed.

"…"

Without a second thought, Morichika began to make her way towards the back of the classroom where she sat right next to a boy of sky-blue hair.

The boy slowly glanced up from the book he was reading to the girl sitting at his side. He quickly took in the color of her hair before turning his attention to the start of class.

After having to sit through a few hours listening to simple introductions of their new classes, all the students excitedly exited the classrooms as lunch had made its way. They all scattered around the school. Those who went out into the courtyard were the second years. They gathered amongst themselves to eat with returning friends and greet the new freshmen. Most of the first years went down to the cafeteria to eat while others preferred to stay in the classroom to eat their lunch.

The scarlet girl opened her lunch box and slowly began to consume its contents. Her brightly colored eyes wandered to the window. She emotionlessly looked down at the bundles of students talking and walking around. She observed very closely, not missing a bit.

Soon lunch had ended, and classes resumed once again.

As the teacher turned around to write on the board behind him, Shouhiiro quickly glanced out the window next to the sky-blue male. Rarely did she take a look at him while returning her gaze back to the front of the classroom.

"Alright class, it seems like this is it for today. Have a nice rest of the day, and see you all tomorrow." The teacher told the class as the bell had rung.

All the students had retrieved their belongings from their lockers and began to go home as others stayed behind.

As for Shouhiiro, she had a mission to find someone. In hopes of finding this person, she wandered about the whole school, but it wasn't long until she found herself in a spacious building.

Now realizing that she was in the gym, Shouhiiro noticed a small bunch of people huddling not far from her. She walked closer and ignored the stares thrown her way.

"Hey, coach, do you know who this is?" one of them interrupted. The _coach_ turned around to examine whatever it was that caused the sudden interruption.

The coach was female of average height…for a student. She was obviously a second year here for she was wearing Seirin's uniform and no first year could have been the coach of anything right off the bat. Her hair was short, kept off her face by two pins, and light brown matching her eye color.

She immediately took in the presence and appearance of the scarlet girl who quietly walked into the gym before smiling widely to quickly hug her.

ALL of the boys in the gym were left in confusion as they stared at the two females hugging each other warmly.

"It's been so long since I've last seen you!"

"It's nice to see you too, Riko-san" Shouhiiro greeted back to the second year before her.

One of the boys cleared his throat, "Coach, could you tell us who this person is?"

Riko, the coach, turned back to the small group and introduced the girl. "Everyone, this is Morichika Shouhiiro… she is my cousin."

It took everyone a while to comprehend what the coach had just said before tackling them with several questions such as, "No way! She's your cousin!?" or "Oh man! Someone like her is related to the coach? This is bad!" and "There is no way someone as cute as her is the coach's relative!"

Shouhiiro bowed down and reintroduced herself, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Morichika Shouhiiro."

"Shou…hiiro? Strange name you got there…" one commented.

"Alright," slightly annoyed, Riko brought the groups' attention to her again, "Now that you all know Shou-chan, take off your shirts!"

Once again the boys were left in a state of confusion. Realizing the coach's command, they started to complain while removing their shirts in embarrassment.

They lined up and watched as Riko walked down the line staring at their bodies. She commented to everyone what they were lacking in strength or stamina as well as how they can improve.

The scarlet girl simply watched as her cousin did what she does best. She was used to her cousin's ability, but became surprised as Riko stood in front of a first year longer than she did with the rest. He was far more built than the others, so did that catch Riko's attention?

Shaking it off, Riko quickly checked her clipboard making sure it was everyone she checked, but there was someone missing. She called out to him, but got no response and muttered something under her breath.

Shouhiiro caught glimpse of someone approaching her cousin and stood behind her. The coach was convinced that the missing person didn't bother showing up and turned around. She was frightened that someone was standing that close behind her.

He introduced himself as Kuroko. Shouhiiro widened her eyes at his name. She has heard that name somewhere, and that wasn't it, he was also her classmate. Riko's eyes lit up seeing that he _did_ show up, but…apparently he was there since the start. How did she or anyone not notice him?

Two second years quickly jogged over to this Kuroko and questioned him. They mentioned something about the 'Generation of Miracles', something that intrigued the scarlet girl.

She wanted to hear more about this 'Generation of Miracles' topic, and walked closer, the coach wanted to finish analyzing the guys and immediately told the boy to remove his shirt… again. Nevertheless, Kuroko did as told. One look at his body shocked not just Riko but Shouhiiro as well.

Despite the fact that she didn't have the same ability, or the same interest as her cousin, Shouhiiro couldn't believe what she just saw.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Mini…

After the coach finished checking Kuroko's build, she told everyone they can finally go home. Shouhiiro left with Riko. Her cousin knew that Shouhiiro didn't live nearby, nor did her parents. The scarlet girl wanted to decline her offer, but was insisted of staying over.

Riko had always worried for her cousin, especially when they didn't see each other. Now that it's been more than a year since she last saw her, she couldn't help but want to protect her.

Both girls boarded the bus and sat next to each other listening to their own music without speaking a word.

A normal person would have never guessed that those two were in fact related. Their hair and eye color were beyond different, and so was their attitude. Riko almost always wore a serious expression and at times was quite silly. On the other hand, Shouhiiro looked like nothing interested her.

After some time on the bus and walking, they finally made arrived to Riko's house. Her father opened the door after a few knocks. He didn't know his daughter would be bringing someone over this late, but quickly recognized the girl to be his niece.

Both welcomed her inside and brought her to an empty room to stay in. She made herself at home like she always did when she'd come over to visit. Surprisingly, she noticed that nothing has really changed.

No homework was assigned to either one. The rest of the night was spent catching up with current events. Shouhiiro mentioned almost nothing about herself and simply listened to her cousin until it was almost time to sleep.

The Aida's went to Shouhiiro's current room to say their goodnights only for her to tell them something first. Earlier they had offered her to stay here for as much as she wanted, but now they were shocked to hear that she would only stay for a certain amount of time. Shouhiiro told them that in the meantime she would be staying with them; she would also be looking for an apartment to move into.

According to Shouhiiro the following day, school had gone by quickly. Before she knew it, she was standing inside the same building from yesterday watching the guys warm up.

The first and second years were aware of her presence but didn't say anything until one of the second years did. "Coach, is your cousin going to watch everyday we have practice?"

"Don't worry about it and pay attention!" Riko slightly shouted, causing the second year to shiver at her reaction. "We're going to have a mini-game"

"What? A mini-game?"

"I can't believe we're playing the upperclassmen already" one of the first years complained.

"Do you remember the record from last year they told us about during our first meeting?" another first year commented. "They went to the finals just in their first year."

"Are you serious?"

"That's not normal"

"There's nothing to be afraid of. It's always better to have stronger opponents than weak ones."

The first years looked to one of their own. The very same guy who had caught the coach's attention reassured them. His name was Kagami Taiga, another classmate of Shouhiiro and Kuroko.

Shouhiiro watched in an inexpressible amusement as both teams gathered to the center from the benches. She was curious to know more about her classmates and elder classmen.

The game started the moment Riko blew her whistle and tossed the ball into the air. In a split second, Kagami had the ball and immediately dunked.

_Everyone _was speechless at how strong and fast Kagami was. How was a first year even able to do this with such ease? Dunk after dunk… At the rate this was going, the first years were easily winning.

The second years were amazed. The first years exceeded their expectations, but that didn't mean they were finished. They had to keep going.

Kuroko had the ball, but looked around confused like it was the first time he's ever played basketball. The second years quickly narrowed in on him and stole the ball.

Kagami followed after the ball, but eyed Kuroko. There was something else to him. He was not just mad due to that poor display… there was something else. When the second year was about to score, Kagami quickly knocked the ball away.

Kagami then had the ball in his hands, but was unable to move. Three second years marked him, and when he didn't have the ball in hand, they still marked him. The second years quickly took the advantage and scored as many points as they could.

The turn of events left the first years in the dust while the second years were in the lead with a wide gap between their points. Shouhiiro was actually amazed how at one point the first years were winning and soon after, the second years were winning.

The majority of the first year team wanted to give up. For them, they didn't see themselves winning against their upperclassmen. It seemed impossible now that they'll keep marking Kagami to prevent him from scoring.

Kagami grabbed one of their collars and brought him up to his face. He yelled at them for wanting to give up right now. The scarlet girl noticed the certain blue bird approach the red head from behind, bending the back of his knees. Thanks to Kuroko, the other first year didn't get hurt and was released from Kagami's grip.

From Shouhiiro's, the coach's and the second year's view, Kagami tried picking a fight with Kuroko while the other three first years panicked at the sight. It was unbelievable.

After the first year's little scenario finished, the game resumed. The first years had the ball in hand, and Kuroko wanted them to pass it to him. As it was passed towards Kuroko, the second years were ready to snatch it again like last time, but… the ball went overhead towards the first year by the net. He caught it and scored.

This kept happening over and over until the first years had caught up with the second years. They now knew that it was Kuroko who was making those passes, but they still couldn't help but pay attention to where the ball was heading.

One of the second years had the ball and was about to pass it to another, but one of the first years interfered. Kuroko caught the ball and went straight for the net. His teammates cheered him on as he scored, but stopped once the ball bounced off. Luckily, Kagami was not too behind with the second years. He caught the ball in hand and dunked.

The game ended.

After the game ended, the guys went to the locker rooms to change and the two girls waited outside for them. Truthfully, both were happy about the mini game. "Let's go home, okay?" Shouhiiro looked to Riko who was waiting for her over by the gym entrance.

"You can go on ahead. I want something to eat." She responded.

"Eh… then, let's go eat"

"Sorry, but I wanted to explore a bit, if that's alright. I want to get used to this area. I can find my way back home, so don't worry."

"A-are you sure? What if you get lost?" Riko worriedly asked. She had trust in her cousin, and if she _did_ get lost, Shouhiiro could ask someone for directions… not that she was good with them.

"I'll find a way" before she left, Shouhiiro flashed her cousin a quick smile.

She didn't wander too far off, and stayed near the school district. Many stores were closing, but she still viewed through the window. After sightseeing for today, Shouhiiro finally stopped at a fast food joint. She bought herself a burger, in which she quickly finished, and a chocolate shake.

Deciding it was best to head home, Shouhiiro left the building and walked down the street. Sadly, she was focused on her drink she didn't notice the person in front of her. She bumped into him and fell over, saving her drink in the process.

It seemed as though the man didn't notice her either until he looked down. He scanned her with a smirk and quickly left satisfied.

"Oi!" a voice shouted, "You bastard!"

The man turned back and began running away. What just happened?

"Are you okay, Morichika-san?" Shouhiiro looked up at the owner of the voice. Kuroko was knelt down next to her holding her bag. Kagami kept staring in the direction the man had runoff in and even though he was long gone, he was still mad. He then gave up and held his hand out for the girl to grab. She accepted and was pulled to her feet where Kuroko waited to hand over her bag. "Thank you"

"Guys like them piss me off!" Kagami growled causing the two to look up at him.

"Kagami-kun, you scared him away" Kuroko commented.

"Thank you very much Kagami-san" the girl thanked him with a bow of her head. Kagami quickly felt embarrassed and looked the other way while scratching his cheek with his index finger. "D-Don't worry about it…" he muttered.

The three of them walked to the point where they had to separate. Kuroko insisted on taking her home, but Shouhiiro declined his offer. She knew it wasn't far away now that she recognized the street from yesterday. Yet, they remained standing before the crossway after Kagami decided to break the silence.

"U-um…" he started, "are you gonna be going to all the practices?" He turned his gaze to her where she was staring into his eyes with little emotion causing him to look elsewhere.

"I am not sure, but Riko-san will probably ask me to be there so we can go home together. Besides," she looked up into the dark sky with a smile that was hard to notice, "I like watching others play. It makes me feel happy."

"Do you play anything?" he then asked.

"Nothing in particular, but I am fond of running"

Kagami grunted lowly, refraining himself from asking more questions. Kuroko watched him from behind while removing himself from his shake. "Maybe you should join the track team" he suggested.

"…the track team?"

"You said you like to run. I'm sure you'll do fine if you join the track team."

Their empty eyes stared into the other for a while until Shouhiiro thanked him for his suggestion. "Goodnight" she bid goodbye before crossing the street.

Both males decided to watch her figure walk further and further away from where they stood until they could no longer see her. Then, they bid their own goodbyes and parted ways.

The moment Shouhiiro stepped inside her cousin's house, Riko appeared in front of her as if waiting the entire time. "Do you have any idea how late it is!?" she scolded causing her cousin to shrug her shoulders.

Their conversation continued itself upstairs to Shouhiiro's room. "I bumped into someone by accident, and then I found Kuroko-kun and Kagami-san" she informed her cousin of earlier.

"…I bet you just got lost. You did, didn't you? Even though I told you not to…!"

"I'm sorry, Riko-san…"

"Riko, I think that's enough scolding. Now go finish your homework" her father said from the door as he came to check up on the two. Riko hesitated for a while as she wanted to continue scolding her cousin, but gave up.

"Next time, I'm going with you" Riko told her cousin before heading to her own room. Shouhiiro stared at where she was standing and felt a smile form on her lips. She gathered her clothes, and went to the bathroom for a warm bath.

"Thank you, Riko-san"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Remembrance

Since yesterday, Shouhiiro was forced to agree with her cousin about going everywhere together after school, or after practices. At first, Shouhiiro thought it wasn't going to be fun and this was just her cousin being protective of her, but then realized that this was a way she could see more places. Not only could she know more of the area, but she could also learn more of the team. The only thing Shouhiiro really had to worry and deal with was her cousin's complaints about the team's stupidity.

After classes were finished each day, the scarlet girl would gather her belongings, and would make her way over to her cousin's classroom. "Well," Shouhiiro caught Riko putting her books into her bag the minute she arrived outside the classroom. "We should start heading over to the gym for practice."

On their way to the gym, Riko began to ask her cousin about her day, and how she liked the school so far. The scarlet girl responded with a small smile as she told her cousin of what occurred earlier that day. To her, Seirin was a nice school for it was only a year old. Everyone here was nice, especially the team's second years.

Riko and Shouhiiro were very into their conversation they did not notice that they were now standing in front of the gym where the others were probably practicing by now. The coach stepped inside, and as she got halfway in, she turned around to see her cousin standing by the door like a statue.

"Shou-chan…?" Riko called out, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay today" the girl replied, "There's a meeting I need to attend right now"

Most of the team was staring into their direction, pondering about what was going on. They had stopped warming up, and slowly gathered around their coach as if to back her up in reasoning with her cousin. "A meeting about what?" she questioned, now crossing her arms around her chest.

"It is nothing you should be worrying about" the girl faintly smiled at her cousin. Slowly, she turned her back to everyone, "I am sure the meeting will not take too long. I promise to come back here once it is over."

Although both had agreed on sticking together, Riko felt a little hurt watching her cousin walk away from the gym building. Even so, she did not dare to stop her. Riko had trust in her, and all she really wanted was for her to be safe.

Knowing that Shouhiiro would still be somewhere within the school, the coach eased up a bit before resuming to train the boys.

"You're late, newbie!" a second year called out just as Shouhiiro entered the room.

"I'm sorry…" she bowed, "I was talking with the basketba-"

"_We_," the second year raised her voice, "do not care about what you were doing! Now just shut up, and listen!"

Frightened by her upperclassmen, Shouhiiro remained quiet, and paid attention to another second year who resumed the meeting. Within not even perhaps half an hour, the meeting came to an end. Nothing major was told but the rules, and the days in which they would be meeting again.

Everyone inside the room made their way outside. Shouhiiro stopped in her tracks to grab her cellphone and check the time. There was enough time left to watch the team practice.

Shouhiiro still felt a bit frightened from her upperclassmen's sudden yell towards her. She tried her best to shake it off as she stood at the door of the gym building. Unfortunately, she shook her head at the wrong time. The minute she opened her eyes and looked up, a basketball was flying right towards her.

"Hm!"

"Morichika-san!"

Once again, something was stopped due to her bad timing.

Everyone that consisted of the basketball team suddenly stopped in their tracks and turned their gazes to the familiar scarlet haired girl merely laying on the cold floor. Being the one responsible for the almost sudden kill, Kuroko jogged over to the girl.

"Morichika-san…" he asked worriedly, "Did you get hurt?" Shouhiiro sat up, using her elbow to support her upper body as she looked up at him.

"Kuroko…?"

"I really am sorry…" Kuroko held her right hand in his left while his right hand made its way down to her waist before gently pulling her to her feet.

"Thank you" she gently smiled. She bent down to the ground to grab hold of the ball near her feet before handing it back to him so they could all resume with their training.

Practice continued after Kuroko had apologized. Truth was he still felt a little bad that he almost hit her, but he was also scared of what the coach might do. Shouhiiro was not mad at him. She couldn't be, not ever.

Time to time she would look up from her homework to watch the boys practice shooting hoops or passing to each other. As this went on for some time, it was then time to leave.

The boys went inside the locker rooms, and the two relatives remained outside in the gym gathering their things and waiting for the boys so they can go home.

Half an hour later and the two finally arrived to Riko's house. Shouhiiro did not have homework to work on anymore seeing how she finished it during practice, but Riko did.

They were both inside Riko's room where Riko was working on her homework as well as working on a training schedule for the team. Meanwhile, Shouhiiro was laying on her cousin's bed, staring up into the ceiling through the darkness.

Riko's father was standing by the door minutes later, making small talk with his daughter. Riko's father knew she was up to something, and perhaps it was something that occurred last year. At least Shouhiiro thought so when she heard her cousin mentioned 'again' …but 'again' what? No later did he leave for her to rest despite her refusing until she was done with individual programs for the second years to work on.

"Aren't you going to sleep yet?" Shouhiiro spoke, looking at her cousin under her desk lamp while upside down.

"You heard, didn't you? As the coach, I need to work on schedules and programs for the team. There are many things they still need to improve on, especially the first years."

Feeling tired, Shouhiiro stood up and walked to her cousin's door. "You heard what uncle said, 'It's not good for your skin'. Please go to sleep soon."

"Don't worry, Shou-chan" Riko smiled to reassure her before turning her attention back to her notebook. For a few minutes, the scarlet girl stood by the door, watching her cousin occupy herself with ways to improve the basketball team.

Never before would she have guessed that her cousin would be this amazing. She knew her uncle was a sports trainer, but for her cousin to in a way follow under his footsteps… Shouhiiro truly looked up to her.

When it was time to get up, Shouhiiro felt groggy. She didn't really understand why she would feel this way. Was she getting sick? Perhaps, but it was nothing for her to worry too much about, so she brushed away the feeling as she got ready for school.

Both girls sat on the bus together, waiting for their arrival to school.

"So…" Riko began, "the meeting from yesterday, what was it about?"

"I was thinking of joining a club since school started, but until yesterday morning, I heard there was a meeting for new recruits."

Riko immediately perked up. "Really? What club are you going to join?"

Shouhiiro turned to her, looking straight into her eyes. "A club" she bluntly stated.

"Don't give me that! Let's see…" Riko put a finger to her chin, and thought for a bit. "You don't really do much, is it an indoor club?" Riko waited for her cousin to answer, but instead of getting one, all she got was a stare that lasted all the way to school.

"We're here"

The scarlet girl stood up, and hopped off the bus with her cousin following suit.

"Oi! Tell me!" Riko pleaded. Her attempts to make her cousin talk happened all the way to school, and yet the scarlet girl would not respond back. All that the girl did was simply ignored her cousin.

"Classes are about to start Riko. Please go to your own class before you get there late and get in trouble." Shouhiiro, in a soft voice, tried to remove her cousin from her leg. Riko still refused to give up for a few more minutes until she finally acknowledged that her cousin was right. There was little time left now before classes began, but it was enough time for her to make a quick run to her own class.

Before she did so, she warned her cousin that she will get an answer from her.

The girl once again ignored her cousin, and walked to her seat. This action she received from her was almost unbelievable. The second year sighed in defeat and quickly dashed off.

Luckily for Riko, she made it to her class right on time.

Most people in the classroom went their separate or grouped ways for lunch. As for Shouhiiro, she remained in her seat eating her lunch in silence until she felt a light tap on her right shoulder. She perked up from her lunch and slowly turned her head to the side and towards the source the tap came from. Just then, she was now face to face with Kuroko who pointed down to his own lunch. "Would you like to eat together?"

Although it was not present, the girl felt slightly happy that the boy asked if she would eat with him. They immediately joined their desks together before they returned to their lunch.

They continued to eat in silence, but Kuroko was worried about his classmate. She kept looking in the opposite direction as him for an unknown reason. Not only that, but he noticed that she was also unsettled – almost as if something were bugging her.

"Morichika-san, are you alright? You don't look well."

The boy thought he had gotten her attention for a moment, but soon realized that her gaze never left the window and beyond outside.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" At first he thought he was hearing things, but when she turned to look at him, he realized that she was actually speaking to him.

Kuroko nodded in response and awaited her to continue.

"Do you…remember me?"

Silence surrounded them once more as they eyes met. No emotion was shown on their facial expressions, but their eyes were doing all the talking. "I do" he spoke softly.

The girl's eyes smiled widely at his answer before actually physically smiling at him.

"I'm happy that you do. I almost began to convince myself that you had completely forgotten about me, Kuro-chan."


End file.
